In an interesting crossroads between the gaming world and the rest of the entertainment media, the Majesco marketing department is undertaking an interesting experiment with the publicity budget for the upcoming release of their vampiric sequel Bloodrayne 2.

In advance of the game's October release date, the Majesco marketing suits have hit two major venues designed to expose the svelte half-breed to a more mainstream audience... of sorts.

On September 18th, the Bloodrayne 2 cast of characters will be performing in their very own music video, lip syncing to Evanescence's hit "Everybody's Fool." The video, rendered with Bloodrayne 2's in-game engine, features Bloodrayne mimicing the lead singer of the theatrical metal band, while a trio of the game's baddies man the instruments for MTV 2's "Video Mods" TV show. While the full video won't be exposed until the september airdate, a muted 30 second sample is available from the official Bloodrayne 2 website.

Over on the print side, Bloodrayne will be stopping the presses in this October's issue of Playboy. In this year's edition of their gaming issue, a pixelated version of the vampire killer will be appearing topless. According to Majesco PR, this marks the first time a video game heroine will appear nude in the revered men's magazine.

Neither of these two publicity stunts tie into the Bloodrayne movie, currently in shooting in Romania. The feature film, produced by Vancouver's Brightlight Pictures, depicts a young Bloodrayne chasing around the East European countryside in the early 18th century, coming to terms with her new powers and purpose in life while working for the Brimstone Society. The movie, rumored to be budgeted at a healthy $50 million USD, will star screen legend Ben Kingsley, with Terminator 3's Kristanna Loken playing the title character. The movie is expected to hit the screens by late 2005.

While it's been no secret that game designers have been relying more on existing intellectual property and mass media to make up for the ever-increasing development costs, this affront on the popular media appears to be unprecedented in the gaming industry. The words of Majesco vice president of Marketing Ken Gold, taken from an interview back in 2002, most likely best represent the mentality behind the marketing drive:

Our promotion should resonate with visitors of Playboy.com as well as with the core video game player, and end up being mutually beneficial for both companies.

While it's not a reporter's job to editorialize events in the news section of any magazine, we here at IMG welcome your feedback on this seemingly controversial subject. Head over to IMG's forums to contribute your two cents to the converation.
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